


Second Chance To Be Brave

by WaveRider



Category: Stargate - All Media Types, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Established Relationship, Gen, Military, Multi, Other, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:41:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24087514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaveRider/pseuds/WaveRider
Relationships: Evan Lorne/Original Female Character(s), Jennifer Keller/Rodney McKay, John Sheppard/Original Female Character(s), Teyla Emmagan/Kanaan
Comments: 7
Kudos: 7





	1. Apprehension

Staring out the window watching hyperspace flash by, Allie nervously stirred her hot chocolate. For the first time she felt apprehension. She had been so sure of this decision, to leave Earth and commit herself to the Atlantis expedition. For the past 6 months recuperating and proving to everyone that she was fine and healthy, apprehension and fear were long distance companions. She had had enough of those in her lifetime, the last time she had them… she had almost died. But now it was beginning to threaten her state of mind again. And she refused to let that happen. Not now.   
  
Something interrupted her thoughts, a lull in the conversation cross the room caught her attention. She glanced away from the window and caught two US Marines staring at her, her eyes met theirs and something made her tense up. The marines returned to their conversation once she had caught them looking, but Allie still felt tense. Her fingers curled up into a fist against her mug. She couldn’t work out what had riled her up but something clearly wasn’t right. She glanced back out the window, hoping the blue tinge would distract her once more, but try as she might, she couldn’t escape the words that were now floating across the empty dining hall, piquing her curiosity. 

“I heard her ATA gene is pretty strong.” The younger marine whispered. His voice had a childlike quality to it, like he was talking about his favourite superhero. He fiddled with the sleeve of his black t-shirt as the other marine gave him a cold hard stare. 

“And your point is?” His voice was rougher, marking him out as older. His voice felt familiar to Allie, like home. But the undercurrent of anger that roughened his tones made her feel uncomfortable. 

“She has a stronger gene than Lorne, heck I heard it’s stronger than Sheppard’s.” 

The older marine placed his coffee cup on the table, slightly more forcefully than he needed to. He fixed his stare on the younger marine, making him squirm. She knew the look well, the stern gaze of a Commanding Officer when you had done something wrong. 

“And again, your point… is?” He picked up the coffee cup and frowned at the dregs within. 

The younger marine tensed his arm muscles, briefly considering a comeback, before dropping his gaze to the table.   
  
“I guess I meant nothing by it. I was just…” He started but was stopped by a further stern gaze from the older marine. 

“Save it Sergeant. There is nothing special about a few extra genes. No fancy genetics is going to change the fact that she is a washed up Navy pilot. Guess that’s another thing that she shares in common with Shepherd.” He drowned the dregs of the coffee cup. Allie glanced at her own cup, her eyes began to itch. She wrinkled her nose, holding back tears.   
  
The marine who had now been identified as a Sergeant glanced up at him, his fingers twitched on the table, his arms tense, as if sizing up an opponent. He was interrupted by the hazing crackling of the intercom firing up. 

“Ladies and gents, we are about 3 hours away from Atlantis. So I suggest you get yourselves to your rooms and check you have everything packed up and ready to go. Anything you leave behind will be not be hand delivered to you, but instead will make the 3 week journey back to Earth without you.”   
  
The intercom cut off and the older marine stood up to leave, his eyes glanced down and took in the tense posture of the Sergeant. He smirked slightly. 

“Well snap to it Sergeant. You don’t want to be making the trip back do you?” He laughed as he left the room.   
  
Allie glanced back at her hot chocolate cup as the young marine grabbed his own, downed the dregs, before grabbing the older marines cup and putting them both away to be cleaned. He jogged out of the room leaving Allie alone with her thoughts. 

Her fingers curled around the cup, thinking about the conversation she had just listened to. Seems it wasn’t common knowledge about what led her to be making her way to Atlantis. Of that she was at least grateful. Her unease at what that older marine had been saying was harder to decipher. He was clearly privy to more information than he should be, which made her worried. The mission that had led her here was heavily classified. Only high level staff at the SGC had been made aware of it, and he did not look like any of the command team. 

She sighed as she downed the rest of her hot chocolate, pushing herself back in the chair, flinching slightly at the scraping sound the chair made against the floor. She placed her cup in the dirty dish area and made her way out of the room. The conversation floated around the front of her mind as she made her way down the corridors. 

The feeling of doubt was beginning to creep back again. 

Had she made the right decision coming here? 


	2. New Team Members

Lorne's fingers drummed an impatient tune on the table. He really hated it when McKay had to give a briefing on something. The man had no concept of the word 'brief'. In fact Lorne couldn't even remember what the current lecture was about because it had gone on so long. At least he wasn't the only one bored. Sheppard was doodling on a piece of paper, and Ronan was dozing off in the corner. Lorne averted his gaze across the table. Teyla was almost half asleep across the table, her head lounging on Jennifer's shoulder who also looked like she was about to doze off. How Jennifer could put up with McKay on a daily basis he didn't know. He suppressed a snort when he remembered Jennifer's answer when he asked her that very question.   
  
" _When you're in love you don't mind about the little things. One day you'll feel the same way too Evan_ "   
  
Yeah right, like he was ever going to fall in love. He was second in command of an expedition, in another galaxy, where there were creatures that could suck the very life out of you. Plus he had tons of paperwork. Sheppard loved to delegate. So he didn't exactly have time to date.   
  
His gaze found its way back to Teyla and Jennifer. Somehow both of them had managed. Jennifer and McKay managed to find time around their hectic schedule. And Teyla, she found time to go on missions, fill out reports, advise the Athosians as well as raise a son and spend time with Kanaan. No wonder she was tired out.   
  
Lorne averted his attention back to McKay when he realised he had actually stopped talking. He nudged Sheppard with his elbow. McKay did not look happy.   
  
"So Sheppard do you guys have any idea what I just said?" McKay folded his arms across his chest and glared at Sheppard.   
  
"The generator broke. It took you hours to fix it. You have fixed it , and now you're looking for praise" Sheppard answered, his tone matter of fact.   
  
"Well, yes but…"   
  
"Stuff it McKay" Sheppard interrupted him with a look. "You aren't getting any praise. It took you an hour to say that. And I have an important brief to get through."   
  
McKay sat down, although his posture suggested he hadn't let the subject go. The man's ego was huge. Jennifer sighed knowing full well she'd get the brunt of it later. Lorne and Teyla struggled not to giggle.   
  
"Anyway guys, we have some…" Sheppard paused when he realised Ronan was still asleep."Lorne wake him up"   
  
Lorne picked up the pencil Sheppard was using earlier. No way was he going anywhere near Ronan when he woke him up. He chucked the pencil at Ronan, who woke up with a start, automatically going for his gun looking around for an attacker.   
  
"Ronan" Sheppard's voice warned.   
  
Ronan sat back and holstered his weapon. But he still looked around the room for the attacker. Lorne struggled to not let the laugh escape and turned his attention back to Sheppard. Sheppard was scrolling on the tablet in front of him, looking for the information he needed. Lorne tapped his fingers on the table. He anticipated a huge chunk of paperwork coming his way to read through, if Sheppard was spending time finding the important bits in it. He suppressed a tired sigh. It was gonna be a long night. Sheppard finally glanced up from his tablet, a triumphant noise was made under his breath as he finally tapped up the information he was looking for.  
  
"Right, what I was saying is that we have newbies coming in. McKay you got some new scientists coming through." He gave McKay a pointed look "Can you please be nice to them? Rather than scare them off like you did the last time?" His tone was sarcastic but the look in his eyes was not. McKay pouted but wisely kept his mouth shut when he spotted the look on Sheppard's face. Sheppard smiled before turning to Jennifer.   
  
"Jennifer, they've finally granted your request. You've got some new medical staff coming as well as new supplies and equipment."   
  
Jennifer sighed with relief. The medical supplies were running low and she'd been overworked after losing two doctors last month. Finally she'd got the break she needed. Lorne was just about to dose off again when he perked up again at the sound of his voice.   
  
"Lorne, Ronan. We have a new bunch of Marines coming through so you know the usual welcome. Test their combat and shooting skills, and Ronan, try not to send them to the infirmary."   
  
Ronan nodded his understanding but the mischievous glint in his eyes made Lorne groan, making him drop his head onto the desk between his folded arms. The Marines would probably end in the infirmary in the first hour of being here.   
  
"Oh we also have a new pilot coming through," Sheppard's voice rung out, a smug tone, as Lorne looked up at him, suddenly more interested.  
  
They hadn't had any new officers in a while. He wondered if it was anyone he knew. Sheppard saw the question in Lorne's eyes and shook his head.   
  
"It isn't anyone we know in fact she isn't even US Air Force"   
  
"Well hold on what is she from? I thought the only pilots we had were in the Air Force?"   
  
Lorne groaned, "We have pilots in the Navy and Coastguard too McKay."   
  
"Why would we want the Coastguard here? It's not like we go swimming in that ocean out there. "

Lorne rolled his eyes and looked back at Sheppard  "She from the US Navy? One of those Top Gun Pilots?" he asked. 

Sheppard shook his head, his forehead creased as he stared at his tablet again. "No she isn't. Well she is Navy but not our Navy. She's a Royal Navy Harrier Pilot."

Lorne's eyes widened. Those guys were good. He once attempted to fly a Harrier. Emphasis on the once.

"She's had experience flying Harriers as well as limited helicopter experience. She also knows how to fly puddle jumpers and qualified to fly F-302's"

"Knows how to fly puddle jumpers... she's been injected with the ATA gene then?" Lorne asked.

"Not... exactly" Sheppard managed, although his tone implied something else.

McKay leaned forward. "What do you mean 'not exactly'?"

"They tested her to see if she needed the ATA Gene or not…" Sheppard began.

Lorne nodded. That made sense.  Stargate Command tested all new pilots, and some other personnel, before they joined the Atlantis expedition. It's why they had tested him before he had come to Atlantis. They found out he already had the gene. It wasn't as strong as Sheppard's but he had it alright. McKay though, still wasn't satisfied though.

"There's an 'and' isn't there" his tone impatient, grasping onto a piece of information he desperately wanted to know more about.  Sheppard rubbed his arms, appearing almost nervous. Lorne exchanged a glance with  Teyla , the same question mirrored in her eyes.

Ronan had been his usual quiet self throughout the entire meeting, but even he was suddenly interested. He leaned forward "Sheppard. There is an 'and' isn't there?"

Sheppard rubbed his hand through his hair. Causing it to stick up at odd angles, reflecting his sheepish expression.   
  
"Yes" he finally got out.   
  
His hand dropped to the table, tapping it a couple of times as if considering. Sheppard leaned back in his chair and sighed. He posture reluctant, clearly not keen on passing the information out but after look at the mixture of stubborn, irritated and confused faces around him, he finally opened his mouth. "Her gene is a heck of a lot stronger than mine. In fact she shares a lot in common with Ancients."

McKay looked shocked, before the excited scientist in him regained controlled "So they think she's a…"

"They aren't saying anything yet." Sheppard's tone leaned towards harsh as he cut off McKay's excited speech. "As far as I'm concerned she doesn't need to be poked and prodded by you. Especially since I've experienced your poking and prodding to find out why my gene is so goddamn strong. Anyway, Captain Alana Murphy has already had enough to deal with. In fact she's refused to take over in command 'cos she doesn't want the responsibility."

Lorne frowned as his mind started to sort through all the information. He gazed down at his hand, his fingers still absentmindedly tapping the table. He stretched them out and then folded his arms against his chest. Officers don't refuse command posts. What could have possibly happened to this Alana to make her want to refuse a command post?

"Why would she be in charge?" McKay asked. "I'm not exactly clued up on the Military chain of command thing but isn't a captain lower than a Major?"

Sheppard sighed "If she was in the Air Force yes but a Royal Navy Captain is equivalent to a full bird Colonel. Anyway no more questions. Ronan, Lorne when you're testing her military skills go easy on her." When Lorne and Ronan both frowned at him he gestured in a nonchalant way, his voice softening. "Please. I'm sure she can handle herself, but she's still recovering I don't want her hurt unnecessarily. Anyway I'm sure you guys have lots to go through; the newbies will be here in about 3 hours. So dismissed or whatever"

As everyone got up to  leave, Lorne stayed sitting in his chair. The question he should have asked poised on his lips, unasked. What the hell had happened to this girl? Lorne shook his head and got up to leave, making a mental note to warn the medical staff early. He was pretty sure they were going to get busy in about four hours' time.


	3. Cracks And New Friends

Allie was halfway through packing her stuff when something made her pause. She stared at her best uniform laid out, all pressed and clean, on the bed. Her eyes found their way to rest on the rank sewn on the sleeves. She sat down on the bed and fingered the four gold bands on one of the sleeves. The rank of Captain. A position that oozed responsibility, dignity. She always remembered looking up to various Captains', particularly Captain Michael Moore. She always dreamed that one day she would reach the rank, and gain the same respect, be able to prove to her family, her friends that she could fly in the Navy.

She teased a thread off the sleeve and twirled it in her fingers. She had only recently been promoted from Commander to Captain, something that should have made her feel proud, excited. She'd got her dream in her life. But now she felt guilt, felt she didn't deserve the rank.

She felt her sight blur, as she remembered the  reason she had been given the rank.

_ "Due to bravery, courage and commitment in the battlefield, today we promote Alana Murphy from Commander to Captain" _

She wasn't brave, she was a coward. A failure. She definitely didn't deserve the rank. Because of her in one night five….

Memories of that dreadful night threatened to overwhelm her. She got up and leaned her head against the cool wall to calm the raging headache. But the memories kept coming. Screams of men, women echoed I her head. She sank to the floor and pressed her hands against her ears to block out the screams but it didn't do much good. The screams threatened to overwhelm her, the smell of blood filtered through her nose. She gagged at the smell. Tears leaked from her eyes, and she wrapped her arms around her torso, her fingers digging in to exposed flesh on her arms. The pain pulsated through her arms, just enough for her to push the memory back, but not enough to completely escape it. A barrier was in the way.   
  
She was drowning.

Someone was yelling, but it wasn't inside her head. It was right beside her. She blinked tears from her eyes and dragged, clawed, herself from the past, past the final hurdle blocking her, and into the present and tried to find the face to go with the voice. One of the Marines from the dining room was staring at her, his hands on her shoulders as if to shake her awake. Suddenly Allie felt frightened but when she spotted the concern in his  eyes she realised it wasn't the hostile Marine who had been talking about her before. Instead it was his friend, the one who had been dragged from the room for pausing. 

"Are you okay? It looked like you were having a nightmare with your eyes open." His voice was soft, full of concern. 

She glanced  around, slowly; her eyes blinked. "I'm okay… I think"

She silently cursed herself. It had been 8 months since she’d had a nightmare. 8 long months of hard rehab for her injuries. 8 long months of counselling. Why now? Why now of all places had her brain betrayed her and thrown up an old hurdle.   
  
This was supposed to be a fresh start. Frustration drove energy through her limbs, Allie tried to stand up but a wave of dizziness and nausea, swept all the energy away, making her sit back down with a groan. Her arms were still clenched tight to her chest but her shirt felt wet.

Glancing at the grimace that had made its way on to her face, the Marine gently pulled her arms away and Allie gasped. Deep gouges were in her forearms, blood dripping down. She glanced at her fingernails and realised that she had done that to herself. Another bout of nausea made her want to throw up. The Marine looked shocked and glanced back at her face, concern radiating from him.

"I don't think you are okay" he said calmly.

He helped her stand up, and then wrapped an arm round her waist to support her.

"Come on I'll take you to the infirmary" his tone was still soft but an undercurrent of firmness, had Allie nodding her head rather than stubbornly refusing like she should have done.  Allie clung on this his waist and let him lead her through the corridors. She realised she didn't know his name.

"Seeing as I'm ruining your shirt with my blood at least let me know your name" her attempt at humour caused her to grimace slightly as her arms stung but the marine still picked up on the tone. He glanced down at her, as though considering something.

"I guess you're right. I'm Sergeant James Atkins of the US Marine Corps." He paused "Now you know my name I deserve to know yours"

Allie took a breath in before answering. "Commander…. I mean Captain Alana Murphy, Royal Navy. Although I prefer to be called Allie"

A smile stretched across James' face, a grin that was hard not to join in with, it softened the strong lines of his face "Ah, I knew I was right, I had you pegged for a Brit. Well I'm pleased to meet you Allie. Although it probably could have been under better circumstances"

Allie giggled although the unexpected reflex caused fresh waves of pain to radiate through her arms. She winced. Seeing the wince James picked her up, ignoring her squawk of protest, and carried her through the hallways, gaining more stares from the passing people. Seeing the question and annoyance in her eyes James shrugged.

"Hey it's quicker this way. Plus we need to get those wounds seen to. And we have about an hour till we reach Atlantis. The quicker I get to the infirmary, the quicker you get treated and you can go back and get changed." Gesturing with his chin towards her bloody top.

"Good point." She sighed.

Allie relaxed and allowed James to carry her. The apprehension she felt when people stared at her was dimmer than before. It was still there but now she felt slightly better. She had possibly found a friend. She hoped that she would find more at Atlantis.


	4. Secrets And Worries

Allie fiddled with the new bandages applied to both forearms. They felt stiff and uncomfortable against her skin and she couldn't cover them up because her fitted jacket would not fit over them. She sighed leaning her head against the wall behind her, looking up at the ceiling. Her head still felt slightly fuzzy from the nausea before, and the painkillers weren't helping. She turned her head at a slight noise and saw James walking in with his large rucksack, a smile playing at his lips when he spotted her. Allie couldn't help but grin back. James dumped his bag next to Allie's and leant against the wall next to her.

"How you feeling?"

"The painkillers have just kicked in, so I'm feeling on top of the world at the moment."

James laughed and Allie felt some of the previous fuzziness clear, and the smile on her face got a little bigger, until it faltered, when James gestured at her arms.

"Have you figured out yet how what you going to tell Sheppard about that yet? You know he will probably want to know how you got yourself injured mid- flight? "

Allie frowned, she hadn't thought about that yet. Plus with being unable to wear her jacket, she couldn't hide the bandages. She fiddled with the bandages absentmindedly. 

"No I haven't yet." She sighed "Probably tell him I had an accident, tripped over my bed or something."

James frowned "He needs to know at some point the truth." His tone was soft, but Allie rolled her eyes.

"Look I know... but. I won't tell till he really needs to know." She caught a frown cross James' face. "And you have to promise me you won't tell either James."

James didn't look like he liked that idea but he promised not to tell, making Allie breathe a sigh of relief. They were interrupted by the arrival of various other military personnel as well as some scientists and medics, all carrying luggage. Some looks were thrown Allie's way; some were curious looking at the bandages on her arm. A few weren't so curious but instead filled with hate and loathing making Allie wince. James tightened his muscles slightly, glaring at them until they turned away. He reached across and picked up his bag slinging it across his shoulders. He picked up Allie's bag and helped put it on her shoulder's taking care not to catch her injured arms.

"You going to be okay?" he patted her her shoulders slightly before walking round to look her in the eyes.

Allie thought about it and realised that she was. Well at least for now. "Yeah I'll be fine."

Despite her voice sounding determined, James narrowed his eyes slightly as if unsure, but before he could voice his opinion a member of the crew wandered over, carrying two weapons. She stopped in front of them and looked at James "Sergeant Atkins?" She asked hesitantly. 

James nodded and was handed a P90 to carry. Every member of military personnel arrived in Atlantis with their own weapons now. It was easier, especially when foreign military members didn't react well to being given a weapon they weren't used to. The female crew member smiled at Allie "You must be Captain Murphy then?"

Allie nodded, warming slightly to the smile on the crew member's face. She kept forgetting that the ship she was on was a British ship, one of the Daedalus class ships they'd been given. So the crew reacted better to her then the passengers did. She always found it funny when Americans complained that the British got to call one of their ships Enterprise when they weren't allowed to. Interupting her from her thoughts, she reached out to take the SA80 handed over to her. Allie suddenly regretted already having a bag on as it meant she couldn't strap the weapon to her to make it easier to carry. As if knowing this James slipped one of the straps off her shoulder so Allie could get the rifle strap round her back. The rifle weight rested comfortably against her chest, a familiarity that comforted Allie. Allie did like the P90 that James had and could shoot with it. But she had always used the SA80 and plus the P90 didn't come with an attachable grenade launcher. Girl gotta have a grenade launcher.

A man at the front told everyone to get ready to be beamed down, as they had arrived at Atlantis. Suddenly Allie felt apprehension again. How would the people of Atlantis react to her? She felt James gently squeeze her elbow a smile on his face, and Allie relaxed slightly. Then she felt the familiar sensation of being beamed down and the next thing she knew she was standing in the middle of a large room. She stared around in awe, her eyes finally coming to rest on a small group of people on the stairs. The nervousness returned and she swallowed, even with James to help she was worried she might not fit in here.


	5. Meet And Greet

Evan stood uncomfortably next to Sheppard. He always hated being part of the meet and greet party, but being the 2IC came with some disadvantages, paperwork being one of those things. But it was his duty so he took part although a little reluctantly. McKay,  Ronon and Jennifer were also part of the meet and greet but  Teyla had managed to escape. Although considering Torren was teething and wasn't very well, he wasn't exactly surprised  Teyla had been allowed to stay with him.

He glanced down the steps to where the new recruits would be arriving and sure enough, around 50 people were beamed into the spot he was looking at. He smiled as they stared around them in amazement remembering his first time here, and how amazed he was.

"Right guys. Welcome to Atlantis." Sheppard started speaking to the milling recruits and they all turned to listen. "I'm Lt. Col. John Sheppard and I'm the ranking military officer of the Atlantis expedition. Normally Mr Woolsey would be here to greet you but he's currently on route back from Earth on the Daedalus. Now I'm not really big on the whole, speech thing so, if all the Science Staff would like to follow McKay here…" He gestured towards McKay "… then he can spend hours briefing you on stuff you really don't need to know."

Lorne snorted, stifling a laugh as McKay glared at Sheppard, before leading his group out. Lorne felt sorry for the poor scientists. They really didn't know what they had let themselves in for.

"If all the Medical Staff would like to follow Dr Keller here, she'll get you acquainted with the infirmary and the routine she has."

As the medical staff filed out all that remained were the new Military recruits. Lorne noticed  Ronon sizing them up, and he smiled slightly. Like any of these guys could go up against  Ronon in a fight.

"Right I'm guessing you're the new military recruits. So you know who I am. This is Major Lorne, my 2IC. If you can't find me to talk to, then talk to him. And this is  Ronon . I would like you all to follow him, and he'll get you set up for quick run through of your hand-to-hand combat skills as well as shooting skills. Just so we know what we are working with"

As the group started to file out Lorne looked at Sheppard, his brow creased thinking about something before he looked up. "Is it possible that Captain Murphy could here first?"

Lorne watched a brown-haired woman towards the rear of the group pause, and turn around and look up at them. He noticed that she wasn't wearing her jacket like the others; instead it was tied round her waist. He guessed that the bulky bandages on her forearms might be the reason for this. She climbed the steps slowly and when she reached the top Lorne noticed that she was only slightly shorter than him, but the bag on her back made her look smaller. 

Sheppard reached out his hand, and the Captain shook it gingerly. Sheppard smiled then dropped her hand, and stared at Lorne. Lorne got the hint and reached out to shake her hand. Her hand felt warm and Lorne felt rough patches from long healed scars on some of the fingers. When he looked up to look her in eyes, he got lost in them. They were a pale green and sparkled in the light. Lorne felt a grin  creep on to his face, and was rewarded with a slight smile back. When Sheppard cleared his throat, Lorne reluctantly dropped her hand.

"So… you can call me John" Sheppard turned to look at Lorne smirking "I'm sure Lorne here won't mind you calling him Evan. So do you prefer being referred to by your rank or first name Alana?"

"I prefer my first name. I'm still not used to being called Captain, and I absolutely hate being called Ma'am. Although I prefer being called Allie, not Alana." Her voice was soft, but still carried loud enough to hear. She didn't look much older than he did, but a voice carried the experience of years of command. 

Sheppard smiled "Allie it is then. If you want to follow Lorne, he can take you where the others have gone. We are only going to test your shooting skills today. Particularly since it seems you've got new injuries." His eyesight rested on her arms, causing her to shift slightly, almost defensively. 

Allie subconsciously rubbed one of the bandages. "Yeah I... had an accident. Tripped over and grazed them up a bit"

Her voice now sounded unsure, hesitant. Lorne knew enough to know that a lie was hidden behind her words. Lorne noticed Sheppard tighten his eyes slightly as he picked up on the same note. He glanced at Lorne briefly before shrugging.  But Sheppard seemed happy to let it slide... at least for the moment. 

"Anyway I've got paperwork to complete, so Lorne if you could get her to the shooting range. And the quicker the better. The more time  Ronon is left alone with the new recruits, the more injuries Keller will have to deal with."

Lorne laughed and then showed Allie to the shooting range, as Sheppard ran off to do paperwork. Lorne could only imagine the large pile of paperwork he himself had waiting for him, but it would have to wait. Lorne gestured down one of the corridors and Allie moved to make her way down it.  Lorne and Allie walked in companionable silence down the corridors. Allie seemed deep in thought, one hand resting on her rifle, the other holding the straps of her vest. Lorne realised he hadn't gotten round to learning more about her from Sheppard so he may as well get to know her now, while they had time.

"So you're a pilot then?" he began hesitantly. 

Allie glanced his way, before smiling. 

"Yeah I am, Harriers and F-302s. I'm guessing you are a pilot too?"

"Yeah but not as good as you. I tried to fly a harrier once, it didn't end well." Lorne grimaced slightly

Allie laughed. "Yeah, they aren't easiest. It takes a knack to do it. Which mistake did you do? I saw an RAF pilot miss the Aircraft Carrier once. Ditched it in the sea. RAF always thought they were better than us Navy pilots, but at least we don't miss"

Lorne felt a grin creep onto his face, and the brief frustration in her voice. Good to know the inter-forces banter was an international thing. "I  errr …" he coughed slightly "I got slightly carried away with the fact you can bounce it, when waiting to take off."

"Let me guess, it was an older model, and you accidentally dislodged the landing gear lever landed belly down on the deck?"

Lorne blushed slightly "Yeah I did." He glanced down at the weapon she was carrying. "So you didn't want to trade in for the P90 then?"

Allie looked down at her weapon as if in surprise, before shrugging.

"Nope. I prefer the SA80, might not carry as much ammo in a mag, but this comes with a grenade launcher." she patted it, almost affectionately "Plus I can shoot better with this one."

She grinned and Lorne couldn't help but smile back. They eventually reached the armoury and Lorne reluctantly took his place in front of the group next to  Ronon . He wished the walk had been longer so he could spend more time talking to Allie, the talk had been surprisingly good for him.


	6. Target Practice

Allie skirted the back of the group trying to keep her head down. The last thing she needed was to bump into the US Marine who wasn't exactly keen on her. Plus by being at the back of the group she could avoidany unwanted looks thrown her way. She had made great strides in improving her confidence, she didn't want to ruin that. James spotted her and patted the wall next to him, causing Allie to let out a breath she didn't realise she'd been holding. She rolled her back off one shoulder, dumping it on the ground before leaning against the wall next to James. 

She nudged him on the arm "What have I missed?" she whispered.  
  
James folded his arms against his chest "Oh just Ronon's brief on what we are doing today. A quick weapons assessment by either him or Major Lorne, and then a hand-to-hand combat test. They wanna know if we have any particular skill-sets they can utilise, or weaknesses to improve on."   
  
His gaze moved back towards the front of the group, and Allie found her eyes following the movement. Ronon and Evan were assessing two people's stances with weapons already. She didn't flinch as they started firing their weapons, washing a wave of relief down her body. James moved next to her, placing his fingers in his ears to block out the loud sounds echoing around the room. Allie shut her eyes briefly but decided not to block her ears. Instead she reveled in the fact the noise wasn't making her jump. When they had finished firing Evan and Ronon began debriefing them on their skills in low voices. One to each shooter. They were obviously telling them where they needed to improve. It was like Basic Training all over again. But then again Royal Navy basic training doesn't prepare you for either space battles in X302's or to fight an enemy than can literally suck the life out of you. Everybody's skills probably needed brushing up on. James took his fingers out of his ears and looked down at her. 

James nudged her shoulder with his elbow "You by the way are lucky." he said in a low voice.

Allie frowned up at him "And why is that?" 

"You are excused from hand-to-hand combat. Knowing me I'll have to go up against Ronon and end up in the infirmary or something." 

Allie felt a smile creep onto her face as she averted her gaze back to Ronon assessing a Marine on his stance when handling a handgun. Ronon was huge and she had already heard about his fierce reputation on the way over here. "Yeah you would probably end up in the infirmary." 

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." James pouted.

"Well Sheppard has known Ronon for what... four years? And he still hasn't beaten him so you don't have to beat yourself up about it." 

James began muttering under his breath, while Allie shook her head, the smile still on her face. She turned her gaze back to front and watched quietly as each new recruit was put through their paces. She laughed at every funny comment James came up with until eventually it was their turn. They were the last to be put through their paces. James reluctantly headed over to Ronon who had a mischievous glint in his eyes when he spotted the obvious reluctance in James. Allie made her way up to Evan. He smiled as she approached and Allie almost frowned as her heart felt like it skipped a beat. She took a deep breath, hoping it was just nerves, and not anything else. 

"You okay?" He asked. 

"Yeah fine." Allie shifted her rifle strap into a more comfortable on her shoulder, covering up the fact she was avoiding his gaze.

"Well I'm just going to assess your shooting skills with both your SA80 and then your handgun and see if you need to improve anywhere" He looked at the chart in his hand, his pen tapped it thoughtfully. "Although we also may need to check out your skills with a sniper rifle at some point..." He looked up "...considering the SGC listed you as having sniper potential."

Allie raised her eyebrows in surprise. She remembered someone at command talking to her about taking a marksman course. But that was over a year ago now. And lots of things have happened since then. She hadn't realised they still had her listed for having marksman potential. She fiddled with the strap on her rifle, before shaking herself out of her thoughts. She stepped up to the line before glancing at Evan. "How many rounds am I firing?" 

"20 rounds." Evan said before glancing back down at his clipboard.   
  
Allie checked that her rifle was set to single shot. It was easier to count rounds, than fiddle around taking 10 rounds out of the mag. She unclipped the side of the rifle from its strap and pulled it up to the soft part of her shoulder in the ready position. She paused for a moment, checking her arm could take the weight of the rifle. Apart from a slight burn underneath her bandage, the weight felt comfortable. Out of the corner of her eye she glanced at Evan, her finger paused over the safety. 

Evan nodded briefly. "In your own time carry on." 

Allie flicked the safety off then cocked the weapon. Aiming down range she spotted the fresh target that had been put out for her. She took a deep breath in to steady the weapon and then fired 20 rounds off, pausing every so often to take a breath. After she fired the weapon, she put the safety back on. She clipped it back up to the strap, and fiddled with it trying to get to it to rest comfortably against her chest. She tried to ignore as the target was brought up to Evan to look at. His face never changed as he looked at it, giving nothing away. She couldn't see how well she had done, so started to panic that her skills might be a bit rusty. But she focused on readying her handgun instead. She didn't need the added stress of her score digging a large hole in her already frayed nerves.

Evan slipped the target underneath the piece of paper on his clipboard, he wrote a few things down before looking up "10 rounds for this one."

Allie nodded, before firing 10 shots down range. Allie quietly took the magazines out of both her handgun and SA80 before placing the handgun back in its holster and shifting the weight of her rifle on her vest. Her heart was beating fast now. It was just like waiting for her GCSE results all over again. She was a bag of nerves. She just focused on her breathing exercises. Just like the doctor had said. _Breathe in Allie_

Evan finished writing some notes down on his clipboard before glancing back up at her again. He smiled when he spotted that she was on the verge of being a nervous wreck. "Relax, you did fine." He held out the targets and Allie sighed with relief when she saw all her shots had hit. Evan's smile grew. "These are the tightest groupings I've seen today. You don't need any extra practice. Guess the SGC were right in their assessment. Remind me never to piss you off." 

Allie laughed, her earlier feeling of failure slipping away fast. Allie returned to the back of the group and found James strapping his P90 back on. 

"How did you do?" she whispered. 

"Not as well as you. My accuracy needs work but not as bad as I thought. I just need to practice at least twice a week." He grinned at her. "The only one with sniper potential huh? Sheppard and Lorne will be fighting to put you on their teams, unless you're taking a team of your own." He raised his eyebrows. 

"According to my joining instructions I'm taking a team of my own. But both Lorne and Sheppard are allowed to attach me to their team if they need to and someone else will look after my team till I come back. Apparently I have skills that are 'valuable'." She took her hand off where it was resting on her rifle to mime air quotes. 

"Well there aren't many snipers or jumper pilots so you probably will be needed a lot. And your third in command, although you're a higher rank than Sheppard..." He glanced at Allie a question in his eyes. "Why didn't you take charge?" 

She searched his eyes, considering the meaning behind the question before shrugging "Sheppard and Lorne know more about how Atlantis works than I do. I prefer for them to be in charge."

"Fair enough" 

Allie rested her hand back on her rifle, a sigh of relief. James hadn't noticed that she had avoided the question. Allie glanced up to the front again when she heard Ronon clear his throat. 

"Right are you ready to get pummelled?" Ronon glanced at the warning look from Lorne. "I mean practice your hand-to-hand skills? All of you will be going up against me. Lorne has a minor arm injury from a mission so he's been signed off this by Dr Keller. But don't worry…" Ronon glanced at the nervous faces now staring at him. "I won't hurt you… much." 

Allie spotted Lorne roll his eyes and smiled slightly. Right at that moment she was glad she had to sit this one out. 

"Anyway guys..." Lorne cleared his throat. "First we will show you to your accommodation so you can dump your kit and change into your PT gear." 

Conversations full of nerves started to hum around the room as everyone grabbed their bags to follow Ronon out of the room. Allie paused to hand her rifle over to one of the technicians to service and place in her equipment locker. Her handgun stayed in its holder on her leg. She had noticed Lorne and Sheppard remained armed when they were on duty, she figured the same was expected of her. Allie then reluctantly headed over to the back of the room bending down to grab her bag. Her arms aching dully as she picked it up. As she stood up her eyes met Evan walking over to her. He held out his hand as an invitation to help her. She gladly handed over the bag, happy as the weight was removed and her arms stopped protesting. Evan slung the bag over his shoulder. 

"You didn't say that you were that good a shooter" He started as he slung one strap over his shoulder. Allie averted her gaze as she realised she was staring as his bicep tensing with the movement.

"I don't like to brag." She said hesitantly as Lorne finished hefting the weight of her bag onto his shoulder before looking at her. 

"Why not? You're good." Evan said.

"Yeah well I just don't like to. Rather stay out of the spotlight." She glanced down at the floor, thankful that Lorne didn't press the issue. 

They started to walk out of the room. Everybody else had already left and Allie was glad they had. She hated the way they stare at her as they pass. It made her feel uncomfortable. As they walked down the corridors they met a women carrying a young child who was whimpering slightly in her arms. Evan smiled. "Torren not sleeping then Teyla." 

Teyla smiled weakly, as she raised her gaze from the child to them, tiredness pulling at her eyes. "Not really. I was hoping a walk might calm him down. And at the moment it's working." Her eyes drifted to Allie. 

Evan smiled. "Allie, Teyla and her son Torren." 

Teyla's smile lit up her whole face and instantly putting Allie at ease. "I have heard much about you Allie. I was meant to be showing you to your room but other things took over." She glanced back down at Torren as he whimpered again.

"Well you can come with us if you like" Evan said. "I'm not exactly sure where her quarters are." 

Teyla smiled. "Luckily I do." 

As they walked Teyla and Evan talked about daily things in Atlantis and Allie was glad to just listen, and let their words wash over her as she glanced around her. She had read so much about Atlantis. But the reports did nothing for the way it looked. Each corner they rounded almost had her mouth gaping in awe. Eventually Teyla paused in front of a door "Your room." She smiled at Allie, before waving her hand in front of the door mechanism. 

Allie wandered in, curious, and took in the small but spacious room. Her eyes widened slightly when she spotted the small balcony and the view outside it. She heard Teyla laugh softly as she couldn't help but run up to the balcony. Her hands rested against the railing as she took in the view. Sure the city below her was interesting, but it was the wide expanse of water that had her grinning. She closed her eyes and leant into the breeze, smelling the salt on the wind, feeling herself get taken back to childhood memories. As well as a few spent on various aircraft carriers. She turned to glance back at Teyla who had followed her. 

Teyla laughed. "I chose this room for you. John told me about the different military forces on your world. When he told me about you and said the Royal Navy is the same as the US Navy just a different country, well..." She glanced out over the balcony. "I thought a view of the ocean would put you more at ease here." 

"It's perfect." Allie said softly "Thank you so much." 

Teyla beamed. "You are welcome" 

Evan appeared at Allie's shoulder. "You like the room then?" Allie nodded. 

"Good I'm glad. Well we should get going. I need to be there for when Ronon injures any of the recruits." 

Teyla laughed. "Good luck with that. I'll see you two later maybe at dinner?" They both nodded. "Well I should go put Torren to bed. Have fun." She added with a smile as she glanced at Evan. She then left the room singing a soft lullaby to Torren. 

"Well I dumped your bag on the bed, and the other box from Enterprise should be here later. You ready?" Evan asked 

"Yeah let's go. I want to see the infamous Ronon in action."   
  
Evan laughed as he led the way to the gym. "You won't be disappointed." 


	7. Infirmary Trip

Allie made her way through the infirmary, trying not to meet the eyes of the medical staff. The last thing she needs was someone poking and prodding her arms again, asking questions she didn't want to answer, or didn't know the answers to. Plus she was only here visiting, if she needed a check-up she would bloody ask.

She smiled as she spotted a battered James trying to slide out of his bed discreetly. He was managing to stay discreet, she was impressed that none of the medical staff had noticed his escape attempt. Unfortunately for James her eyes were a lot sharper.

"Aren't you supposed to stay in that bed Sergeant?" She smirked.

James' head whipped around searching, then he spotted her leaning against the wall across from his infirmary, causing him to groan.

"And here I was thinking I might be able to make a quick getaway" He muttered. His eyes drifted to the paper bag clutched in Allie's hand as she approached the bed. 

"What's in the bag?" He winced as he tried to straighten up.

"Oh this?" She rattled the bag as she looked at it "I raided the kitchen and found some chocolate muffins"

"Raided the kitchens?" James cocked an eyebrow "You've only been here half a day. How did you manage to pull that off?"

Allie shrugged. "Some people are surprisingly unobservant." She sat on the edge of the bed next to James, who was pursing his lips together in thought.

"Fair enough" He eventually said, leaning out to grab the bag only to have Allie pull it out of his reach. The hurt pout on his face had Allie grinning.

"Not so fast. You only get these if you promise me you stay in that bed until Dr Keller says you can go."

James groaned but obediently swung his legs back on to the bed. He was rewarded with the bag of muffins being dumped in his lap.

"So…" He reached into the bag, pulling out a muffin, the groan he made as he bit into was almost not safe for work. He glanced back at Allie. "...you came down here to see what happens when you get punched by Ronan?" James mumbled round a mouthful of muffin.

Allie rolled her eyes "You say that like you're the only one who got hit. Plenty of people got hit you're just the one who got the worst battering."

James swallowed "How many were injured?"

"About 10 marines. Only you and one other need an extended stay in the infirmary. Lorne said if we hadn't arrived when we did, we had have gotten more of an ear bashing from Keller"

James groaned "You'd think they'd have told Ronan to go easy on us newbies"

Allie was just about to open her mouth when she was interrupted by someones gruff tones beating her to it. "He was taking it easy on you."

Allie turned and took in Sheppard casually leaning against the wall. She felt James straighten up next to her, responding to the CO being in the room. She relaxed her posture slightly. If everyone went around standing to attention and saluting the senior officers, nothing would get done.

"That was Ronan's lowest setting. Believe me Sergeant; you would know if he had been at his full  Chewie setting." Sheppard smirked

James frowned "That is definitely something I don't want to find out"

Allie felt the smile grow on her face. She watched as Sheppard moved over and leaned on the wall opposite her.

"Don't worry, the bruises on your ribs will eventually clear up and you'll be back to full strength in no time" Sheppard glanced at the bag clutched in James' hands. "Although muffins stolen from the kitchens won't speed up your healing. Particularly when both Ronan and Rodney take a fancy to those chocolate muffins. And it is not pretty when someone gets in the way of those two and food."

James shook his head innocently. "I didn't get these. I've been ordered to strict bed rest."

John switched his gaze to Allie and raised his eyebrows.

"I only took a couple; it didn't even make a dent in the pile in there."

"Of course you did" Sheppard said a slight smile on his face.

James folded up the bag and put it on the side table. His shoulders tensed up as if anticipating trouble or a telling off.  Sheppard took in James' tensed muscles and reached over and patted his leg. "Relax Sergeant. I do it all the time"

James relaxed slightly but still held himself upright. "You here to see me Sir?"

"No I came to see your muffin stealing Captain. If that's okay with you?"

James shrugged "Sure go ahead. It's not like I can stop you Sir"

Sheppard smiled he turned to leave the infirmary bay.  "You rest up Sergeant"

"Yes Sir" James halve saluted, wincing as he did.

Sheppard gestured for Allie to follow him. Allie patted James on the leg as she left, following Sheppard's quick steps out of the infirmary. When they reached the quiet of a corridor, Sheppard paused briefly to turn to her.

"You wanted to see me Sir?" Allie asked, a small hint of worry flared to life in the back of mind.

Sheppard frowned slightly "You really shouldn't call me Sir. You're a higher rank than me. It's… weird hearing you call me Sir. Call me John when we are off duty. If you have to be formal call me Sheppard or Colonel."

"Okay…" Allie paused as she worked out what out what to say next. "...John it is then. You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. I was just wondering if you had selected your team yet, or do I have to go through tons of paperwork and select them for you?" He folded his arms against his chest as he looked at her. 

Allie suddenly felt uncomfortable. "I haven't really had the… do I have to decide now?"

"Not right now, no. But I'd rather you choose sooner, rather than later. It would be nice to add you to the off world schedule. Take a little bit of the workload off the other 10 teams."

Allie glanced at the floor. "Well I guess I would like Sergeant Atkins to be on my team. But as far as the rest of the team goes… I haven't really spoken to anyone else. Or read any personnel files. I couldn't comment on who else I would want"

Sheppard still had his arms folded across his chest as he looked at her considering her words. "A friendly woman like you and you haven't made any friends beyond the Sergeant in there?"

Allie shrugged. She wasn't willing to tell Sheppard about the hostility people showed towards her. This was her issue to deal with; it didn't need to be spread to other shoulders. Sheppard's gaze rested on her face, and Allie suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable. Judging by how Sheppard tightened his eyes he could tell something was up. Sheppard unfolded his arms. "Well I'll have the files of military personnel delivered to your office so you can have a look through. But I want your recommendations for your team on my desk by the end of the week." John turned to go but was stopped by Allie tapping his arm.

"I have an office?" She asked, confusion clear on her face.

"All the senior Atlantis staff has their own office.  Radek , McKay, Jennifer, plus me and Lorne. Even though you only want to be third in command, you are still more senior than me and Lorne." Sheppard smiled "You at least deserve your own office to do you own sizeable amount of paperwork"

Allie wrinkled her nose at the thought of paperwork. "Well where is this office? That wasn't on Lorne's tour earlier"

Sheppard continued down the hallway, with Allie scrambling after him "Where do you think I'm taking you right now? Lorne was meant to take you, but he got side-tracked by having to clean up the mess Ronon made with the Marines"

Allie had wandered where Lorne had run off to. When she thought about it, there had been quite a sizeable mess to clean up. And she fully understood why Dr Keller had been noticeably frazzled. Both Lorne and Ronon had looked like 5 years olds getting a dressing down as she had told them exactly her level of frustration. 

"Oh, I guess when you put it that way... lead on then."

Sheppard paused frowning, he turned to look at her. "Only if you promise me one thing. You deal with whatever is holding you back and ensure you socialise."

Allie instantly felt her internal hackles raise up, she frowned, trying not to appear on the defensive "Whatever is holding me back? There isn't anything holding me back"

"You may be able to pull the wool over most people's eyes but you can't with me. Look I'm sure if you wanted to there are plenty of people who would hang out with you. Lorne,  Teyla , Jennifer, the Sergeant in there. Even me if you want to."

Sheppard backtracked slightly as he saw the growing worry in Allie's eyes "Look all I'm saying is, with all the things Atlantis throws at you it's nice to have some downtime. After a bad mission you need someone to talk it other with. You can't just let issues rip you apart in private. Some problems need two sets of shoulders to bear them"

Allie glanced at the floor, the familiar anxiety threatening to creep back. She took a deep breath in, using it to gather her thoughts, before glancing back up at Sheppard.  "I'm not promising anything, but, I'll try at least try." She rolled her eyes before muttering "If it will make you happy"

John looked at her, his eyes tracking the unspoken discomfort in her face, but credit where credits due... he didn't pry further. At least he didn't right then. He could easily spring it on her at a later date. 

"I guess that's the best I can hope for. Although you can come talk to me about anything, alright, in the meantime, let's show you to your office"

Allie almost sighed with relief as she followed John through the many corridors before he reached a transporter.

"Thank You" she eventually said. 

John looked at her with a knowing smile. "So tell me about home" He asked as he tapped when of the dots on the screen.


	8. Team Selection

Allie groaned as her head hit the desk, resting between her folded up arms, a headache threatening. She glanced up over the top of her arms at the precariously stacked folders in front of her, still waiting to be read, and immediately hid behind her arms again.

She hated paperwork. She had only been here 6 days, and already she had enough paperwork that it was overflowing her desk.

When Sheppard said he would drop off the files of those available for team placements to her, Allie expected maybe 20 files at most. The amount of new military recruits who had arrived with her on Enterprise. And for some reason she had it in her head that the files would all be electronic rather than paper folder files... but this?

75 files were stacked haphazardly on her desk, filling it up and making her feel crowded. And not all of these files were military personnel either. It turns out a lot of people on Atlantis either had time on their hands or wanted to run around the galaxy with the reconnaissance teams. She lifted her head again, and rested her chin on her hand, staring at the piles in front of her.  
  
She had earlier managed to carefully extract one file which was now safely nestled next to her laptop on a small table in the corner, to separate it from the masses. She had resisted scanning the full file, but had opened it enough to determine that it belonged to James. James was the only one in the 'yes' pile after 3 days. She had tried to get through the files, but with Lorne and Sheppard both off-world on extended recon missions and Woolsey not yet being back as the Daedalus was still travelling back from Earth space, Allie had somewhat been thrown in the deep end with 3rd in Command responsibilities. Putting out various fires and troubles around the base, both figuratively and literally in the case of one failed science experiment. Which meant James' file had been the only one she had been able to look at.   
  
Allie sighed as she reached out for the nearest folder and pulled it towards her. This had been the first day she had more than a couple of minutes spare for herself so was determined to select this team so she could stretch her legs and get out. She absentmindedly rubbed her arms, as she flipped open the folder. Her arms still felt sore but the bandages had been removed yesterday by one of the medics, freeing up some movement in her wrists. The wounds had healed but some of the deeper wounds were still visible, but luckily their appearance meant she was able to pass them off as minor shrapnel wounds from an explosion. Which was more appealing than telling people she hurt herself in a panicked moment. Less questions that way.   
  
_Pull yourself together Allie._ She shook her head and perused the file in front of her. She felt a small smile play on her lips as she read the file, she might have found the second fit for the team.   
  
A Captain in the US Army, trained as a combat engineer. His file seemed small in comparison to the size of others stacked on her desk , but he came highly recommended. He had completed a tech course and had familiarity with both wraith and ancient tech which meant she didn't have to recruit a scientist. He had spent the last 6 months stationed on Atlantis but so far had had limited off world experience, only being attached to teams as and when they needed engineer skills. Instead he spent most of his time attending to engineering tasks around the base, and was on the tech rota for the control room. So probably itching to get some real action under his belt. Her eyes flicked up to the picture, before closing the file. Her hand tapped on the front cover considering.   
  
She lifted up the file and chucked it on the small table where her laptop was.   
  
"Welcome to the team Captain Ross Ashdown" she smiled before jumping as a voice sounded in her ear.   
  
" ** _Captain Murphy?"_   
  
**Allie sighed as she flicked her finger up to her radio to open up the channel, guess her few moments of peace were up.   
  
"Speaking, what's up Chuck?" She pushed herself away from the desk and stood up, as she waited for the reply from the control tech  
  
" ** _We have little altercation in the mess hall. Security teams are on route, but..."_**  
  
"But you're hoping the appearance of a high ranking officer might cause them to back down before the security team is needed, right?"  
  
" _ **Yes Captain**_."

"I'm on route, I'll sort it out." her hand strayed to her side arm, checking where it was as she headed to the door of her office.   
  
_**"Thank you Captain, security will meet you there."** _The radio clicked off.   
  
Allie frowned as she heard her stomach rumble, before running her hand over the door sensor and heading towards the mess hall. Picking the other two team members was going to have to wait.


	9. Confrontation

As Allie approached the mess hall doors, her hand went to rest on her handgun as she heard raised voices through the door. 

_Come on Allie, don't be stupid, these are your colleagues.  
  
_ She shook her head and lifted her hand up off the handgun, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling in her stomach. She hadn't had any problems with previous issues, why was this one making her uneasy. She waved the door open and inwardly groaned when she saw James squaring off to another male marine.

"Fuck's sake..." she muttered under her breath before heading over. 

"What seems to be the problem gentleman?" Her voice raised just enough to carry across the noise in the room, without shouting. Various military people around her snap to attention, as they recognised the tone in her voice, the one of a disappointed officer. James blinked as his voice reached her, causing him to look up and his shoulders immediately drooped. The Marine he had been having the altercation with had his arms crossed against his chest, but his shoulders remained stubborn, his back to her, refusing to turn around. Allie narrowed her eyes, judging by the way James backed up a bit, she guessed her expression was not one to be ignored. 

"I said, what's the problem gentleman? Why is it that two grown Marines can't settle their differences without attracting an audience expecting a brawl?"

Various military and civilian personnel around her, began to distance themselves and move away. Allie moved forwards towards the two men, James rubbed the back of his neck in an awkward movement. She finally faced the man who had refused to turn around, feeling her eyes tighten as her heart dropped when she recognised his face. 

It was the Marine who had been the other half of the conversation on the Enterprise. She barely remembered James had been the second Marine in that conversation, but suddenly him squaring up in a shouting match suddenly made much more sense. James had been close to biting back a retort in that conversation, he might have not been able to hold his tongue a second time round. Allie folded her arm against her chest, narrowing her eyes, the Marine at least had sense to drop his own folded up arms but the smirk on his face had Allie itching to slug him one right in his smirking mouth. She really did not have time for this. She glanced at his sleeve for his rank, before glancing back at his face. 

"Well Gunnery Sergeant? I asked you and Sergeant Atkins here a question, don't make me ask it again."

"Just a little friendly banter between marines Captain. Atkins here is too sensitive for his own good, probably not even a proper Marine"

Allie raised her arm as she sensed movement to her right, stopping James in his tracks as he made a charge. He frowned, his arm muscles tensed before moving away to sit at a nearby table. Most of the crowd had now dispersed, apart from a young male Canadian air force Corporal whose gaze was narrowed at the Gunnery Sergeant, before glancing at Allie and moving away to sit next to James. Allie turned her attention back to the Gunnery Sergeant. 

"Mind telling me what this 'friendly banter' was? Cos where I'm from, friendly banter doesn't result in this."

"Atkins didn't take too kindly to my opinion that's all" His smirk never left his face as he said the words. 

"And what opinion is that?" She said, her tone even, but she felt herself brace for whatever was coming.  
  
The Gunnery Sergeant moved closer to her, inches away from her, she felt a chair scrape behind as clearly James moved to go defensive, but Allie didn't look to check, she kept her gaze on the man in front of her.

"Oh only about the chain of command, and how they really shouldn't put certain people in charge, that's all..." his gaze moved down her uniform before smirking again. "...Captain"  
  
Allie felt her skin crawl, and felt her hand itch to move closer to her handgun. Lucky for her, she didn't need to. Allie moved her gaze over his shoulder as she saw the security team arrive, she flicked her gaze back to the Gunnery Sergeant as he looked behind and realised he was more than outnumbered.  
  
"I suggest you go to your quarters and cool off." He turned his gaze back to her as she spoke "And make sure you don't let this happen again... either of you" She raised her voice at the end of the sentence to ensure James heard her. The scrape of the chair behind suggested Jams had at least sat back down again.  
  
The Gunnery Sergeant gave her one last loath filled look before storming out of the mess hall. Allie let out a breath she didn't realise she had been holding. The Security team leader approached her.  
  
"Everything okay Ma'am?" He asked, his arm resting against the P90 strapped to his vest.   
  
"Yes... Yes. Everything is fine. You can go back to your duties."  
  
He nodded before waving at his colleagues to follow him. She placed her hands on her hips as she breathed in deeply, to cool her frustrations before turning to look at James behind her. He immediately went apologetic and defensive.  
  
"Look I'm sorry its just that there's only so much I wanted to hear of absolute bullshit before he needed to be taken down a peg or two... that guy is..." He frowned as if looking for the right words.   
  
"He's pure venom is what he is" Allie looked up surprised Corporal next to James spoke up. He shuffled in his seat as he realised everyone was looking at him. "Sorry Captain but..."  
  
She waved his apology away "No need to apologise Corporal for voicing your opinion." She sighed before glancing back at James. "What is problem with me anyway?"  
  
James shrugged "That I don't know, I just know that he definitely doesn't like you."  
  
Allie rubbed her hand against the back of her neck. "Look I need to get back to the paperwork I need to do that is already about 5 days late." She turned to move out of the mess hall before pausing to turn back to James, a lightbulb in her head as she started to realise something.  
  
"What's the Gunnery Sergeant's name?"  
  
"His name? Its Ryan Watkins, Captain. Why do you know him?"  
  
Allie felt her heart drop and her breathing quicken. She finally realised why he looked so familiar. Suddenly a lot of the hate, made more sense.   
  
"No... just wanted to know who he was so I can report better to Sheppard and Lorne when they get back. I should get going."  
  
She turned and strode from the mess hall, ignoring the confused look James threw her way. She needed time to think.   
  
Her time in Atlantis was about to become a lot more complicated.   
  



End file.
